A driving mechanism for surgical use is disclosed in, for example, Published Unexamined Patent Application in Japan No. 2007-292 276, which is energized with an input of rotation to enable bending (rotating) and/or curving of a connection part. With the driving mechanism as cited earlier, the manipulator has a bending link to join connecting members together and grasping links. The grasping links are connected to the connecting members in such a way as to prohibit movement in the axial direction. The grasping links each have a first shaft and a second shaft, the first shaft having second male threads mating with a second plate of the connecting member and the second shaft having first male threads mating with a first plate of the connecting member. The first and second male threads are made inversely with respect to each other with the same pitch. With the relation of the male threads around the shafts, the connecting members move to approach each other when the bending link is rotated in one direction, whereas the connecting members move away from each other when the bending link is rotated in the opposite direction.
Moreover, a multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator is disclosed in, for example, Published Unexamined Patent Application in Japan No. 2005-169 011, which has superior durability and control accuracy, and further is easier to attach to and/or detach from the sterilizers, washers and driving means. The multi-freedom manipulator has at least three degrees of freedom of relative opening/closing movement of a pair of grasping members, rotation of grasping members around a first axis, and rotation of the grasping members around a second axis lying on an imaginary plane perpendicular to the first axis. With the multi-degree-of-freedom manipulator constructed as stated earlier, the power applied from the actuator is converted through one to three link mechanisms into relative opening/closing movement of the grasping members, rotating movement around a first axis and rotating movement around a second axis.
With the medical manipulator, moreover, the working parts on the proximal ends of the forceps are actuated with wires for power transmission. In Published Unexamined Patent Application in Japan No. 2011-83 476, there is disclosed a medical manipulator in which the forceps is operated without urging the wire against one of the arms of the forceps. The medical forceps usually has a pair of operable arms, operating means allowing any one of first pulling wire and second pulling wire to pull towards a base end while another pulling wire is pulled towards a proximal end, and a power transmission mechanism among the arms and the operating means. With the power transmission mechanism constructed as stated earlier, a pair of pulling wires and a pair of second wires are connected each other through a pair of opening/closing members. Thus, just as the first pulling wire is pulled towards the base end thereof, the second pulling wire is pulled towards the proximal end thereof and the opening/closing members are moved towards closing phase. Moreover, just as the second pulling wire is pulled towards the base end thereof, the first pulling wire is pulled towards the proximal end thereof and the opening/closing members are moved towards opening phase.
Disclosed in, for example, Published Unexamined Patent Application in Japan No. 2013-252 338, there is disclosed a medical treatment member which has a first bendable tubular member lying on a proximal end side, a first wire member whose one end is fixed to the proximal end of the first bendable tubular member and another end disposed for rotation on a proximal end of the first bendable tubular member and a driving mechanism provided to rotate another end of the first wire member. The first wire member causes a twisted condition owing to the rotation of another end of the first wire member, thereby generating the stress in the shrinkage direction between the opposite ends of the first wire member to get the first tubular member bending.